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A workation combines work and vacation, allowing employees to work remotely from a different destination while continuing their normal responsibilities. Instead of taking time off, teams stay productive during the workday and use their free time to explore, relax, and connect with colleagues.
For many companies, team workations provide the perfect balance between productivity and travel, giving employees a refreshing change of scenery without putting projects on hold.
Not all workations are made equal, though. It isn’t an exact science, but there are roughly 3 different types: short-term, medium-term, and long-term. Each has its own distinct use case and set of benefits, so here’s a brief summary to help you decide which workation would be most suitable for your team:
Short-term workations
2–5 days. Ideal for a quick change of scenery and team bonding. These trips are often used to reward employees, break routine, and spend time together outside the office.
Medium-term workations
1–4 weeks. Provides time to settle in, focus on work, and enjoy the destination. This is the most common format for teams looking to combine productivity with travel.
Long-term workations
Several months or longer. Best suited for remote employees looking for a temporary relocation. These workations require additional planning around visas, taxes, and local regulations.
The simplest and most cost-effective way to organize an unforgettable team workation is to get Surf Office to do it for you! If you decide to plan it yourself, though, be sure to keep the following tips in mind:
1. Take time zones into account
The local time can have a major impact on your team's ability to work effectively. Imagine you're normally based in California but choose southern France for a workation. Your usual morning check-ins suddenly happen at the end of the workday, while late-afternoon client meetings might require waking up before sunrise.
This is less of an issue when the whole company travels together, but it's still worth choosing a destination that won't force employees into unusual working hours.
2. Choose accommodation with fast internet
Fast internet isn't optional on a workation. Video calls, cloud-based files, and collaboration tools all depend on it.
Most destinations offer reliable internet nowadays, but standards vary widely. One person's idea of "good Wi-Fi" may not be enough for a team running multiple video calls at the same time. That's why it's important to verify internet speeds before booking.
3. Go somewhere with minimal distractions
Big cities often have excellent infrastructure, but they're also full of distractions. In our experience, the best workation destinations strike a balance between productivity and leisure.
Places like Ericeira or Napa Valley offer plenty to do outside working hours while still providing the peace and quiet needed to focus during the day. If team bonding is more important than productivity, though, a short city break could be the better choice.
4. Book ahead of time
Flights, accommodation, restaurants, and activities should be booked well in advance, especially during peak travel seasons.
Early booking increases your chances of securing the accommodation you want, helps avoid last-minute price increases, and makes it much easier to coordinate activities for larger groups.
Having organized hundreds of retreats, Surf Office already knows which destinations offer reliable infrastructure, productive work environments, and memorable experiences. Instead of spending weeks researching options, you can focus on the trip itself while we handle the logistics. Contact us today for more information or to get the ball rolling.
A successful workation requires more than booking flights and accommodation. Internet quality, transportation, workspaces, activities, and local logistics all need to be considered.
5. Hire Surf Office to help
There’s no shortage of destinations to consider for your next workation. The world is literally your oyster! Nevertheless, we always encourage companies to look beyond big cities. While the copious leisure activities in these places make them tempting, they’re also full of distractions that can hinder productivity. We find rural destinations work best – especially when they’re a) close enough to accommodate the length of your workation and b) in a similar time zone to your clients and/or colleagues.
Surf Office organizes retreats for companies in 160+ different locations. Here’s a short selection of places we recommend for workations of any duration:
Located just 30 minutes from Lisbon airport is the stunning Portuguese fishing village of Ericeira. When they’re not working, your team can enjoy breathtaking coastal views, dine on freshly caught seafood, take surf lessons, and/or hike along the cliffs. The sunsets, beaches, and authentic feel are all to die for.
Tuscany is one of Italy’s (if not Europe’s) most iconic destinations. Renowned for its charming landscapes, medieval villages, picture-perfect vineyards, and storied history, it’s a glorious location for any workation. The local infrastructure is well set up to accommodate modern companies in need of fast internet, too.
3. Catskill Mountains, New York
If you work in a team of outdoor enthusiasts, look no further than the Catskill Mountains as your next workation destination. Located in southeast New York, the Catskills offer endless nature-filled activities that’ll lift people’s spirits, alleviate stress levels, and bring the team closer together while they work.
Zion National Park offers stunning canyons, epic waterfalls, and awe-inspiring views. Leisure activities range from the adventurous (did somebody say canyoneering?) to the sublime (like swimming in crystal clear pools), but there’s truly something for everyone. The infrastructure available in the cozy town of Springdale, including surprisingly fast internet, is the cherry on top.
Napa Valley’s another dreamy destination for hardworking nature lovers. Located in northern California, it has over 53,000 acres of protected hills, mountains, and fields to explore! Combine that with its endless wineries and amazing food scene, and this gorgeous rolling landscape is an ideal setting to recharge, reconnect, and innovate.
You spend most of your workation hard at work, so evenings and weekends provide great opportunities to spice things up with fun leisure activities. Obviously, the exact things you can do will depend on where you go! Nevertheless, here’s a taste of what’s usually on offer:
Hiking
Whether you head to the Catskills or Gran Canaria, Zion National Park, or Lake Tahoe, you’re never far from a trail or two. Step away from the desk for a short lunchtime walk together, or don your hiking boots for a longer weekend trek. Either way, you’ll have nothing but fresh air, beautiful views, and each other for company.
Beach days
It wouldn’t be a vacation without spending time at the local beach! An unbeatable way to unwind, pack a towel, and head to the nearest stretch of sand to sunbathe, swim, surf, and stroll the day away – not to mention play volleyball and make sand castles! With so many activities on offer, beach days are ideal for big groups.
Winery tours
Some workation destinations, such as Napa Valley or Tuscany, enable you to go on winery tours together. A memorable activity and a blissful way to relax, imagine gazing out over glorious landscapes while learning about sumptuous local wines (and tasting them all as you go!).
Sailing trips
Go somewhere like Ericeira in Portugal or Mallorca in Spain, and you’ll have the ocean at your fingertips. Why not make the most of it by organizing a sailing trip for the whole team? We’ve done this all over the world for our customers, booking enough boats to take everyone onto the water – usually at sunset!
Games nights
The leisure activities you do on workation don’t need to be extravagant. Case and point? Games nights. Hosted at your accommodation, you can get together for an evening of Monopoly, improv games, trivia, or anything else you want to play. It’s budget-friendly, easy to organize, good for team-building, and ideal in bad weather.
Sharing meals together
Delicious food has a lovely habit of bringing people together, and one of the joys of travel is sampling the local cuisine. No surprise, then, that sharing meals on workation is such a popular activity – particularly when everyone’s at the same venue. Making such large reservations is challenging, but don’t worry. That’s something Surf Office can help with, too.
Check out our guide to team-building activities for large groups.
For more information and to get started planning your retreat, get in touch with Surf Office. We’re happy to help!
Enigma’s week-long workation in Ericeira
This Switzerland-based digital agency recently flew its 32-person team to Ericeira for a week of hard work and team bonding. In-person meetings, brainstorming sessions, unconventional co-working spaces, informal hangouts, and epic group surf lessons made it a roaring success.
The productivity, fresh ideas, and renewed confidence in their remote-first approach led Nadine Nassif to say, “We absolutely loved our Surf Office retreat. It was everything and more than what we had hoped for.”
Mynd workaway resulted in 12 new product features
Mynd is a property management company based in California. For their work retreat, Mynd’s team of 32 people relocated for 10 days to Surf Office Barcelona. Like Avocode, they spent the first three days running a hackathon. The team developed 12 new product features in a quick sprint of innovation.
Mynd’s approach to their work retreat was to prepare beforehand; key design elements were already in place when they arrive in Spain. As a result, the team could move quickly and work without designers. Consider what you need to do to prepare before arriving onsite for your work retreat.
Amun’s 48-hour hackathon in Mallorca
This leading cryptocurrency issuer took its team of 45 entrepreneurs, engineers, and financial product developers to Mallorca for a 6-day workation with plenty of team bonding thrown in for good measure.
The retreat centered on a monster 48-hour hackathon, which they washed down with glorious ocean views, karaoke, and coffee. As Brian Aznar, VP of Engineering, said, “Any time our company comes together to meet in person, every single person is affected by that. Whether they’re new or have been here a while, they take something away.”
Parkside used their workation to boost their brand
Finally, Parkside is a digital agency based in Switzerland, came to stay with us for 12 days in Gran Canaria with the aim of taking some time & space to focus on their own business, looking to rebrand and reshape their website.
They wanted to focus without the distraction of client projects and with undisturbed streams of productivity. It was an intense few days with some long, solid working hours, but, being only meters from the beach, they had time to relax and surf too.
A team workation is a trip that allows employees to work remotely from a different location while enjoying the benefits of travel. Unlike a traditional vacation, team members continue working during the day while spending their free time exploring a new destination and participating in shared activities.
A workation combines regular work with travel, allowing employees to continue their day-to-day responsibilities from a different location. A retreat typically involves a structured agenda with workshops, planning sessions, team-building activities, and dedicated time away from normal work routines.
Team workations can improve employee satisfaction, boost morale, encourage creativity, strengthen relationships, and provide a refreshing change of scenery. Many companies use workations to help employees recharge while remaining productive.
Most team workations last between a few days and a few weeks. Shorter workations are ideal for team bonding and a change of scenery, while longer workations allow employees to settle into a destination and balance work with exploration.
Yes. Many companies find that a change of environment can improve focus, creativity, and motivation. Choosing the right destination, accommodation, and workspace is key to maintaining productivity during a workation.
The best workation destinations combine reliable internet, comfortable accommodation, convenient travel connections, and opportunities for leisure activities. Popular options include Ericeira, Tuscany, Mallorca, Bali, and the Catskill Mountains.
This depends on the goals of the trip. Some companies maintain normal working hours, while others reduce schedules to create more time for team activities, exploration, and relaxation.
Popular workation activities include hiking, surfing, sailing, winery tours, cooking classes, beach days, group dinners, and local cultural experiences. The best activities help employees relax and connect outside of work.
The cost of a team workation depends on the destination, duration, accommodation, transportation, group size, and planned activities. Companies often balance budget considerations with the goal of creating a productive and memorable experience.
Start by defining the purpose of the workation and selecting a destination that supports both productivity and leisure. Consider factors such as internet quality, accommodation, time zones, transportation, and activities. Many companies work with retreat planners to coordinate logistics and create a seamless experience.
Are you planning a strategy meeting, design sprint, hackathon, kickoff meeting of a new project or “just” regular work time?
Whatever it is, we’ve got your back.
Expect a professional working environment with:
And of course, very fast internet.
Each team has a bit of a different expectation when it comes to their retreat experience and that’s why you have the flexibility to choose different types of accommodation ranging from premium ensuite rooms to shared accommodation.
All of our accommodation options are located in central areas within walking distance from the restaurants and grocery stores. You don’t need to rent a car or use public transportation to move around. We want to make your stay as easy as possible.
You have 100% security that your booking won’t be canceled (anyone with experience of last-minute group booking cancellation can relate).
We understand that your team might be growing and you might need to add additional rooms over time, you’ll have this flexibility too.
We’ve built a system that makes retreat planning easy and fast.
We’ll plan every detail of your retreat from start to finish, so that you don’t have to. This includes:
You will get a personalized schedule and online dashboard with all of your retreat information before your retreat starts. Our onsite support will show you everything you need to know upon your arrival and make sure everything goes smoothly for you and your team.
“Thanks for a great offsite venue @surfoffice – we had a blast!”
James Allgrove, Head of Growth at Stripe UK
1. Confirm Details
You will confirm with us the number of people, location (we can also recommend the best location based on where your team is located and prices of flights), dates and your desired setup for accommodation.
2. Invoice & Payment
After confirming details, we will send you an invoice. You can pay by wire transfer, credit/debit card or PayPal.
3. Team Retreat Planning
This process is super easy. With our playbook you will quickly create a personalized schedule. We’ll make sure you get all the information well before your retreat time and you will have our support person available throughout the whole process.
4. Retreat Time
Expect an introductory tour after your arrival. Our onsite support is available in case you need anything. We will give you local tips and remind you about your planned activities throughout the retreat.
Choose from hundreds of retreat locations in Europe, America, Asia-Pacific, and Africa.
